Changing Scenes: Our Last Days in Nairobi

We couldn’t have finished our stay in Nairobi any better.

This afternoon the children were invited to a wonderful pool birthday party at the German School, a perfect way to cool off after a warm day. Later we met my cousin for a lovely Indian dinner, a beautiful way to end our time in this vibrant city. And the highlight was that it suddenly started to rain like a monsoon! The girls commented that here it rains for two minutes and suddenly there are 20 centimetres of water on the ground, or that in two minutes it rains as much as it would in the mountains in five hours. It was quite an exciting trip home, as the roads flooded almost immediately, and we were very happy to arrive safely.

Tomorrow we leave for Kilifi, on Kenya’s coast, where we will stay for the next five weeks and begin a more regular homeschooling routine in the mornings.

But before moving on, I wanted to share a few highlights from our last days in Nairobi.

One of them was visiting the Ocean Sole workshop, an inspiring organisation that transforms discarded flip-flops from beaches and waterways into colourful works of art. Assunta had been very curious to see it after we heard about their work in a documentary. It was fascinating to see how creativity and environmental work come together in this project. We were put in touch with their team in Kilifi, so perhaps we will be able to visit them again there.

Later that day we moved from the quiet green suburb where we had been staying to the busy centre of Nairobi near my cousin’s home. The contrast was striking: from the sounds of frogs and hyrax at night to the constant hum of traffic and city life. Nairobi truly has many different faces.

The next morning we began our day with a small homeschooling routine before visiting the National Museum of Kenya. What immediately caught our attention were the large groups of schoolchildren visiting. One class had more then forty students, quite incredible for us, considering that the entire school in our small mountain village in Switzerland has only about thirty-six children in total.

Our favourite part of the museum was the bird collection. The children even started making a list of birds they hope to spot during our stay in Kenya.

As we were leaving, a girl asked Assunta if she could take a photo with her. Assunta agreed, and suddenly several girls lined up for photos. When we finally had to leave for our Uber, Assunta laughed and said, “I felt like a model!”

Later we met my cousin again in Karura Forest before heading to dinner with relatives of my husband. Their children were similar in age to ours, and within minutes everyone was jumping on the trampoline and playing games together. Trampolines seem to break the ice everywhere in the world.

This morning we explored Nairobi’s Central Business District and visited a West African craft market. The streets near the bus station were buzzing with people and activity, an adventure in itself. The market was full of beautiful crafts, but we decided to wait until the end of our three months in Kenya before buying too many treasures.

Tonight we fall into bed with tired bodies and happy hearts.

Tomorrow we continue our journey to Kilifi, where a new chapter begins, a slower rhythm, homeschooling in the mornings, and new discoveries along the coast.

Before leaving Nairobi, a few things especially caught our attention: motorbikes with umbrellas, others carrying incredible towers of plastic bottles, and women gracefully balancing large bags on their heads. I have tried several times to capture these moments with my camera, but somehow I am always a little too late.

Perhaps next time.

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